The name Karl Barth might not mean much to most of you, but he is widely regarded as the greatest theologian of the 20th century. Pope Pius XII called him the most important Christian theologian since St. Thomas Aquinas, 800 years earlier. But his influence expanded well beyond the academic realm to mainstream culture, leading him to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine on April 20, 1962. During World War II, he was an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime and he mobilized Christian churches throughout Europe to stand against their heinous values.
After pastoring a country church in Switzerland for ten years, he spent the rest of his life studying God and teaching others about him all over the world. Throughout his career, he wrote many books on theological topics, including his 13 volume magnum opus Church Dogmatics, which is one of the longest works of systematic theology ever written. It runs to over six million words and 8,000 pages (in English; over 9,000 in German).
A famous story is told of the time Barth was fielding questions from the audience after a lecture in Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University Chicago in 1962. A student stood and asked him if he could summarize his life’s work in theology in one sentence. A gasp went up from the audience–responding to the student’s perceived audaciousness. But Barth didn’t skip a beat. He said, “Yes. In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so’.”
The fact that some of the deepest theological knowledge ever written can be summarized by a single line from a simple children’s song highlights the revolutionary values of the kingdom of God that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples during his final journey to Jerusalem. He wanted them to see how different God’s kingdom is from this world. Whereas citizens of the worldly kingdom value power, wealth, and self-confidence, his kingdom values humility, generosity, and meekness. Therefore, to push Jesus’ discipleship agenda, Luke places two stories back to back to contrast these kingdom value systems. The first story is about babies; the second is about bank accounts. They both force us to evaluate our own values in light of the Kingdom of God.
Children and the Kingdom of God (15-17)
In verse 15, Luke tells us that people “were bringing their babies to Jesus to have him touch them.” This isn’t exactly a surprise, in the ancient world, children were sometimes brought to religious leaders to receive a blessing. Since Jesus had gained a reputation as a powerful preacher and miracle worker, parents certainly wanted to bring their infants and toddlers to Jesus so that his tender hands might touch them and his loving words would bless them.
When Jesus’ disciples saw this, they rebuked them, saying, “Get these kids out of here! This isn’t Sesame Street or Romper Room! Who do you think Jesus is anyway? He’s not King Friday or Daniel Tiger! He is the King of Kings and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and he has more important things to do than bounce these babies on his knee! You parents should be ashamed of yourselves!”
But Jesus immediately intervened on behalf of the children saying, “No! You disciples ought to be ashamed of yourselves! How dare you hinder them from coming to me!” And he smiled at the little ones and invited them to come to him, because they were important people too. Even though children had no status and were at the bottom of the pecking order of society, they were precious in Jesus’ sight. He knew that they had inherent value because they were created in the image of God.
Before we look at the disciple’s reaction to this, allow me to point out the fact that at least these parents brought their little babies to Jesus. Many people today either have no interest in this or they are too busy with their own lives to do so. Or they say, “I don’t want to expose my child to Jesus too much. I want them to be able to choose their religion for themselves.” But the reality is that they have already chosen for their child. I am reminded of Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” If parents don’t bring their children to Jesus, who else is going to do it. Here in America we have had a whole generation of children grow up and no one ever brought them to Jesus.
Will you bring your children and grandchildren to Jesus? How about the other children in your life—nieces, nephews, and neighbors?
As the newborns cooed in Jesus’ arms and the terrible two-year-old’s climbed onto his lap, he took this opportunity to teach his disciples about the values in the Kingdom of God. He said “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and that “anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Jesus points to the simple trust that is exhibited in a child’s heart as the means by which all people must enter the kingdom. If anything is characteristic of children—especially babies like the ones here—it is their total dependence on other people for what they need. Children come into the world utterly helpless. Parents have to feed, dress, change, hold, and help their children. And the children simply accept the care they are given.
This is exactly how we must come to God, if we would come into his kingdom. That is why the key word here is “receive.” We cannot force or earn our way into the kingdom; all we can do is receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Philip Ryken puts it this way: “We must make a declaration of dependence, offering God nothing except our need and hungrily receiving the grace he gives to helpless sinners.” (Ryken 273)
Have you been doing good deeds to earn your way to heaven? Have you been trying to be a little bit better than the next person, hoping that God will accept you when the time comes? Stop it! God wants us to simply open our arms to him with the same kind of affection and trust that a baby gives a parent. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these!
The Wealthy and the Kingdom of God (18-34)
At first glance, it doesn’t appear that the story of Jesus welcoming the children has anything to do with the story of the rich ruler. They actually represent the opposite sides of society—a child has nothing and this rich ruler has everything. But Luke intentionally places this story immediately after the children to continue his point about the values in the kingdom of God. As children grow into adulthood they become so reliant on themselves and critical of others that it is hard for them to receive anything from anyone. This is exactly what we find in verses 18-34.
Jesus introduces this man as a “ruler.” He doesn’t share his specific title or position, but he must have been some kind of community leader who had power, authority, and money. Verse 23 tells us explicitly that he also possessed great wealth. And just as wealthy and powerful people usually do, this man tries to get what he wants through money or might, and in this case he wants eternal life. This is why he frames his question to Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” His question implies that eternal life depended on himself, as if eternal salvation could be purchased at a department store or achieved through some back door political deal or jumping through some religious holy hoops—he even asserts his ethical credibility by mentioning that he has kept the 10 Commandments since he was a boy.
This is why Jesus’ response to the ruler’s question is absolutely brilliant. Rather than telling him to do something, he tells him to get rid of something. By telling him that he must sell all of his possessions and give them to the poor, Jesus was stripping away all of the man’s self-reliance. No wonder he was sad! Jesus just told him that everything he built his life on was nothing but a pile of worthless dung. If he kept trying to rely on himself, he would never enter the kingdom of God.
This is precisely why Jesus offers the graphic image of a camel, the largest animal in Palestine at the time, passing through the eye of a needle. Why is it so difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God? Because it is so hard for wealthy people not to rely on their bank accounts.
The people who were standing around listening to this conversation understood exactly what Jesus was saying, that it was humanly impossible for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God, but they were perplexed as to why he said this. Their question, “Who then can be saved?” exposes the assumption that people had in those days that wealthy people were the ones who had God’s blessing. They believed in a type of prosperity gospel: the richer you were, the more likely you were to get to heaven. But Jesus turns all of this upside down by affirming that it is actually harder for rich people to get to heaven.
But Jesus responds with some good news: What is impossible with men, is possible with God. This isn’t just true of rich people; it is true of everyone—if someone truly repents from their sins and is willing to leave everything to follow Jesus, then their souls can be saved and they can enter the kingdom of God.
This is why Peter makes the statement in verse 28, “We have left all to follow you!” And Jesus affirmed the disciple’s willingness to leave everything and affirmed that their reward would most certainly be eternal life.
Please don’t misunderstand what Jesus is saying here. He is not saying that rich people can’t go to heaven. If they are willing to trust Jesus for their salvation rather than themselves, then they too can inherit eternal life. It is just harder for wealthy people because they have more to give up and are usually more self-sufficient. Likewise, he is not asking every person to give all of their money to the poor. But he is asking everyone to give up their hearts, which sometimes requires giving up our money, possessions, our families, or even our own lives.
This whole episode forces us to take a deep look into our own souls and ask, “Who am I trusting in for salvation? Is it really Jesus or is it myself? I know I have preached this a thousand times before, but this text obliges me to do it again: If you think you are going to heaven because you are a good person, you are wrong! If you think you are going to heaven because you have obeyed the 10 Commandments and you live a moral life, you are wrong! If you think you are going to heaven because you have been successful in this life, you are wrong!
They only way you can get to heaven is by truly giving your heart to Jesus and following him throughout this life! The only way to enter the kingdom is to put your trust in Jesus as a child does a parent!
Friends, it is so easy to become reliant upon our money, our strength, our wisdom, our and our talent! But Jesus isn’t interested in any of these things! He wants us to rely on him! Are you willing to give up your bank account and become like a little baby?